Rail joint construction



May 7, 1968 J. A. EISSES RAIL JOINT CONSTRUCTION Filed April 8, 1965 Pam FEGA- FECLZ F i 3 INVENTOR. [4605 A. 5/5555 Arm/W675.

United States Patent 3,381,892 RAIL JOINT CONSTRUCTION Jacob A. Eisses, Bilthoven, Netherlands, assignor to Elektro-Thermit G.m.b.H., Essen, Germany Filed Apr. 8, 1965, Ser. No. 446,557 Claims priority, application Germany, Apr. 8, 1964, N 24,755 1 Claim. (Cl. 238-45?) ABSTRACT OF THE DISQLOSURE An insulating rail joint for two end-to-end abutting rails includes a metallic fishplate arranged on respective sides of the rails between the rail head and the rail foot and they are clamped to the rails by tension bolts which extend completely through the web of the rails and each fishplate. In accordance with the invention, the joint may be easily made by applying a cold-hardening paste of insulating material to the web of the rail and the underlying part of the rail head and the overlying part of the foot of the rails. A feature of the construction is that the fishplates include grooves which extend completely along the tops, sides and bottoms thereof in a continuous or endless path. A resilient rod of a material such as plastic is disposed in the groove of each fishplate at a location to bear upwardly against the rail head at the tops of the fishplates and outwardly against the rail foot at the bottoms of the fishplates, and a complete endless rod is pressed against the rail on both tops, bottoms and sides in order to form a seal to seal the paste Within the fishplate area. An advantage of such construction is that immediately after the plates are applied to form the rail joint, the paste within the joint becomes sealed therein and the rails may be used without waiting for the hardening of the paste.

General description This invention relates in general to rail joint and to a method of forming such rail joint, and in particular to a new and useful rail joint including a fishplate spanning the joint of the two rails to be joined and extending between the rail head and the lower rail flange or boot and being spaced from the rail surface by an insulator material, with a rod of a material such as a plastic disposed between the fish plate and the rail and compressed therebetween under the tensioning of securing bolts which extend through the fishplate and the rail.

The invention relates to an insulating rail joint using metallic fishplates which are advantageously provided on both sides of the rails to be connected and which are clamped by tensioning bolts to the rails. In accordance with the invention, there is interpositioned between the fish plates and the rail an insulating layer which comprises preferably a cold-hardening paste. A principal advantage of the invention is that the joint made in accordance with the method of the invention provides a rail connection which permits use of the rails prior to the hardening of the paste. A train can be permitted to travel over the rail before the paste is hardened. The tensioning of the bolts against the fishplates does not exert an impermissible large wedging action on the head and the foot of the rails.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, between the upper and lower ends of the fishplate, respectively, and the rail head and rail foot, respectively, there is arranged a rod of synthetic material which extends at least over a portion of the longitudinal length of the respective fishplate. The rods are advantageously made of nylon or other synthetic plastic material. In a preferred arrangement, the fishplates are grooved to provide for ice engagement with the rods and the rod material is caused to flow or yield and be compressed under the tensioning of the bolts. The construction is such that the insulating layer comprising the hardenable paste is bounded by the synthetic rods. Due to the fact that the synthetic rods under the influence of the bolt tension will be caused to flow or flatten against the rail, the forces which exert a wedging action on the head and the foot of the rail are limited in regard to magnitude. Nevertheless, immediately and before the paste is hardened, an insulating and strong joint connection is formed. On tensioning of the bolts, ex cessive amounts of paste can be displaced toward predetermined areas at which there may be insuflicient paste. The synthetic rods which bound the areas of paste prevent the formation of cracks and fissures, and thus any wear of the insulation layer.

Because the joints can be immediately used so that the train can travel over the rails, a cold-hardening paste may be employed. Due to the flowability or yieldability of the rods any tolerance differences between the fish plate and the rails are compensated. The size and the form of the cross section of the synthetic rods are adapted to the load conditions which occur during use of the rail and also to the profile of the rail structure.

In accordance with one embodiment, the fishplates may be provided with a groove which extends along the longitudinal and transverse edges thereof and which is uninerrupted. In this manner an endless rod can be formed from a single profile length and inserted into the continuous groove. With this embodiment, the insulating layer would be'bounded on all sides.

In accordance with the method of the invention, the rods are inserted in position in the grooves of the fishplate and either the rails or the fishplate are covered with the h-ardenable paste at the area to be connected. The rods are advantageously positioned in the grooves of the fish plate and may be imparted with a certain flattening by subjecting them to a loading at the areas where the rods will be brought into contact with the rails. Thereafter the bolts are inserted and additional hardenable paste material positioned therearound and the bolts are then tensioned or tightened to hold the two fish plates to the central rail structure.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an improved rail joint construction.

A further object of the invention is to provide a method of forming a rail joint which comprises coating the rail and a fishplate or both with a coating of a hardenable paste at the areas to be jointed together, positioning a rod of synthetic material around the fishplate at a location to contact the rail, installing the connecting bolts between the rail and through the fishplate and tightening the bolts to cause a flattening of the rod against the rail.

A further object of the invention is to provide a joint construction for a rail in which fishplates are arranged to span the connecting rails between the head and the foot thereof with the fishplates having a groove containing a rod element which is adapted to bear against the respective head and foot of the rails and with a hardenable paste material disposed between the fishplates and the rails, the fishplates advantageously being forced against the rails by tensioning bolts extending through the rails on the fishplates to cause a flattening of the rods.

A further object of the invention is to provide a rail joint construction which is simple in design, rugged in construction and economical to manufacture.

The various features of novelty which characterize the invention are pointed out with particularity in the claim annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better understanding of the invention, its opera-ting advantages and specific objects attained by its use, refer- 3 once should be had to the accompanying drawings and descriptive matter in which there are illustrated and described preferred embodiments of the invention.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a joint interconnecting two rail structures in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a section taken on the line II--II of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 1 of another embodiment of the invention; and

FIG. 4 is a section taken along the lV--IV of FIG. 3.

Referring to the drawings in particular, the invention embodied therein in FIGS. 1 and 2 comprises the two rail ends 1 and 2 which are connected with each other by means of fishplates 3 and 4 and a tensioning bolt 5 having nuts 5a threaded onto each end thereof. Between each fishplate 3 and 4 and the associated rails 1 and 2 there is arranged an insulating layer 6 which advantageously comprises a cold-hardening paste. This paste may be applied, for example, by coating it onto the fishplate or the rail structure or both. It is preferable that the material also be applied over the bolts 5 so as to extend completely between the bolts and the associated fishplate. Grooves 7 and 8 are defined in the fishplates 3 and 4, preferably adjacent their upper edges in a position facing toward a corresponding head portion or foot portion of the rails.

In accordance with the invention, rods 9 and 10 of synthetic material such as nylon are disposed in the respective grooves 7 and 8 and they extend outwardly therefrom into abutting engagement with the head and foot portions, respectively, of the rails 1 and 2. When the nuts 5a are threaded onto the bolt 5 so that the bolt is tensioned, the force advantageously causes the rods 9 and 10 to become flattened against the portion of the rail which they abut. The entire tensioning force of the bolts through the fishplates 3 and 4 can thus be transmitted through the rail ends 1 and 2 by the rods 9 and 10. Because the rods 9 and 10 are permitted to flatten, a certain limitation on the magnitude of the wedge forces is obtained. The bolt 5 may, before the paste has hardened, be completely and rigidly tensioned, and the joints may be immediately used after this tensioning. In this manner, it

is possible to effect a rail connection during the operation of the track which is formed by the rail.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, spacers 11 are provided between the fishplates 3 and 4 and the rail 2 or 3 to insure the desired thickness or strength of the insulating layer on both sides of the rail.

In the embodiment illustrated in the FIGS. 3 and 4, a complete continuous groove 14 is defined around the marginal periphery of the fishplates 12 and 13 and an endless wire or rod 15 of synthetic material is positioned therein. Insulating layer 16 is applied between the fishplates 12 and 13 and the rails 1 and 2 in the complete area boundedtby the rod 15.

While specific embodiments of the invention have been shown and described in detail to illustrate the application of the inventive principles, it will be understood that the invention may be embodied otherwise without departing from such principles.

What is claimed is:

1. A joint for connecting two rails, comprising first and second rails arranged in end to end abutting relationship, a fishplate on each side of said rails spanning the juncture of said rails, an insulating material substantially filling the space between each fishplate and the respective rail, each fishplate having a continuous groove defined around the top and bottom and sides thereof, a continuous rod member disposed in the continuous groove of each of said fishplates, said insulating material extending between said rod at the top edge and said road at the bottom edge of said fishplate and being sealed within the space between said fishplate and said rail by said rod, and tensioning bolt means interconnecting said fish plates and said rails and flattening said rods against said rails.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 307,385 10/1884 Freund 238-459 568,650 9/1896 Williams 23 8--142 1,797,621 3/1931 Schermerhorn 238-l5 9 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner.

R. A. BERTSC-H, Assistant Examiner. 

